Wilsonville Spokesman - Schrader Talks Compromise at Rotary Meeting

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By Jake Bartman

"It's not as bad as you think it is. That's my message," began Congressman Kurt Schrader, D-Oregon, while speaking to the Rotary Club of Wilsonville May 5. "I'm going to try to prove it, because all evidence would be to the contrary."

Schrader was there to give an update on the state of the U.S. Congress, where he has served since 2009. Prior to being elected to represent Oregon's 5th Congressional District, he lived in Canby and worked at his veterinary practice in Oregon City. He also served four terms in the Oregon Legislature beginning in 1997.

Schrader noted that the attitude in Congress is more "collegial" than it is often portrayed as by the media. He said that Congress has been relatively productive in recent years, especially last year, when bipartisan agreement on issues was not uncommon.

Former Republican Speaker of the House John Boehner helped to further that attitude with his willingness to bridge the party divide, Schrader said.

"I'm a big fan of John Boehner," he said. "If you want a profile of courage in the 21st century, that's the man I'd look to."

Schrader cited Boehner's willingness to work with House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi on a bill that prevented the fees paid to doctors by Medicare from being slashed as an example. That bill was passed by the House in March 2015. And Boehner's willingness to collaborate on the federal budget passed by the House in late October was also admirable, Schrader said.

Among the examples Schrader cited of persistent bipartisanship was the five-year DRIVE Act passed by the House last November, after Boehner's resignation. It was the first such bill that Schrader has seen passed since he was elected to Congress, he said.

Schrader noted that he had successfully pushed for inclusion of an amendment to the DRIVE Act that designated Interstate 205 as a High Priority National Corridor in need of additional funding.

"It's going to improve (Interstate) 205," Schrader said. "Hopefully we can get an extra lane or two there, for gosh sakes, so it's not such a huge bottleneck anymore."

He added that the bill will increase funding to other public transportation agencies in Oregon besides just TriMet, so that "it's not all Portland transit, frankly," Schrader said, with programs like Wilsonville's South Metro Regional Transit (SMART) in need of support.

Schrader didn't mention the May 17 Democratic primary or his opponent, former state legislator Dave McTeague of Milwaukie.

But Schrader did note his membership in the Blue Dog Coalition, which identifies as a group of fiscally conservative Democrats -- a point of contrast with McTeague, who is a supporter of Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders' campaign for president.

In response to a question about redistricting, which he said sees Democrats and Republicans often separated geographically into different districts, Schrader noted that the fifth district is unique for its high number of unaffiliated voters, which almost equal the number of Democrats and Republicans.

"So I can't be crazy. I have to listen to everybody. I can't get out in left field," Schrader

said.

Schrader also told the Spokesman that he is concerned by the minimum wage bill approved by the Oregon Legislature earlier this year. That bill will increase the minimum to $14.75 in the Portland Metro area, and to less elsewhere in the state.

"I worry about the business climate in our state," Schrader said. "I think people sometimes confuse minimum wage with family wage. In my lifetime, they were not supposed to be the same thing."

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